King Lear And The Tempest

These two Shakespearean characters, Macbeth and Prospero, from Macbeth and The Tempest can greatly compare to one another. From the very beginning, these two men are hard to understand and seem like your average warrior and ruler. Both of these characters are dealing with struggle of power; however, they both deal with this issue in different, interesting ways with different results. At the end of these two plays, we meet two entirely different characters than the ones that we were introduced to from the beginning. In Macbeth and The Tempest by Shakespeare, Macbeth and Prospero, the two main characters have a lot in common and can great compare to one another.

The nucleus of the plot in Shakespeare's The Tempest revolves around Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda.

The Tempest is about an ousted Duke of Milan ,Prospero, who has been living in exile on a remote island for the past twelve years with his daughter Miranda. He is a powerful magician, who happens to be the master of Ariel and Caliban, and a guy who really likes his books. When Prospero's enemies wash up on shore, he uses his black magic to seek revenge and restore himself to power. The Tempest belongs to the genre of Elizabethan romance plays. It combines elements of tragedy with those of romantic comedy, and like one of Shakespeare's plays previously, it asks deeper questions that are not completely resolved at the end. The tone that seeps into the play is one of wonder, amazement, and admiration. Mystery is still present , but the magic performed is not black and scary. The version that seems to grasp my attention more, would have to be the Utah Valley University interpretation because it takes Shakespeare’s main purpose and tone but shows it in its own unique way. Furthermore, with its silly drunkards, the play has a certain lightness to it and even the so called killers of the King tell hilarious jokes and are lighthearted. But there is also the tone of revenge and reconciliation in the play. We feel a revenge burning in Prospero while, at the same time, a wish for forgiveness and reconciliation with those who have wronged him.

     In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero's magic is the means that Prospero teaches his lessons to the plays various characters. Whether or not those lessons were learned or not is irrelevant. The main issue is that Prospero's character is indeed a complex one, and one that deserves much attention. Two essays that look at the complexity of Prospero and his magic are Stephen Miko's "Tempest," and Barbara Mowat's "Prospero, Agrippa, and Hocus Pocus." Both of these essays, in dealing with Prospero and his magic reveal things about Prospero that only enhance the mystery of his character.

    In William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda on a deserted island.  On the surface, he appears to be a benevolent leader doing his best to protect and care for the inhabitants of the island, especially for Miranda.  On closer inspection, however, Prospero plays God, controlling and creating each individual to fit the mold he desires.  He takes advantage of his authority over the people and situations he encounters while wearing a facade of integrity and compassion to disguise his wily intentions and to retain love and respect.

Prospero, the male lead of the Tempest, starts out as the victim of the play, but as the story goes on, it becomes apparent that he is actually the cause of all the problems and plots within the play. Prospero is important because he is the puppeteer that leads all of the characters to complete his orders. He strings all of the characters along to do his bidding, and by the end of the play, he is the only one who wins. Prospero is interesting because, without him, there would be no plot. He is the one who stirs up the Tempest and brings his usurpers to the island. Despite the original belief that Prospero is the victim of his brother’s commandeering of his throne, it becomes obvious that Prospero does not have good intentions, and is

Prospero's intent throughout the course of The Tempest is neither to revenge himself upon his enemies, nor to reconcile himself with his estranged brother. It is, rather, to orchestrate the reclamation of his lost duchy, Milan, through both his magic and a shrewd manipulation of both the shipwrecked party and the islanders (Caliban and Miranda).

He seeks for control in his nemesis towards his brother Antonio, control of the fate of his daughter Miranda, and the control of his servants Ariel and Caliban. Prospero uses force and debt to have greater authority over the spirit Ariel. When Ariel asks for his freedom and “liberty,” Prospero brings up the “damn’d witch Sycorax” from whom he saved him (1.2.247-264). Sebastian and Antonio also abuse their powers by plotting an attack on Alonso, the King of Naples, so they could gain even more political power in the real world. Eventually after all the words of encouragement from Antonio, Sebastian finally says, “Thy case, dear friend, shall be my precedent. As thou got’st Milan, I’ll come by Naples. Draw thy sword,” (2.1.270-272). The desire for political power and authority becomes the core from which other minor themes develop in this play. This improper use of power eventually only harms everyone, not benefit.

   A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.   In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them to share in an experience of emotion, magic, and finally, of resolution. In this way the production could be used as a vehicle for conveying the idealistic virtues of forgiveness, compassion, and of course knowledge. In his book, A

William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” speaks about multiple authoritative relationships throughout the play and the abuse of power and authority. The main character Prospero lives on a deserted island with his daughter Miranda. Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan until he has been usurped by his brother Antonio with the help Alonso the King of Naples and his brother Sebastian. Prospero and Miranda were banished to sea in a rotten boat and eventually lands in a deserted island who was once ruled by a witch named Sycorax but is now only inhabited by her son Caliban and a spirit named Ariel. Since arriving at the island, Prospero has been ruling the island and enslaved Caliban and Ariel by the use of magic. He acts as if he is God by creating a storm in order to shipwreck the King of Naples and Antonio. Prospero uses his powers to get revenge on his brother for having been exiled to the island. Prospero is a controlling character who seems to be obsessed with getting revenge in order to regain his status. He abuses his authority and takes advantage of his slaves and his daughter Miranda to fulfil his evil plan.

Shakespeare's Use of Language, Imagery and Setting to Illuminate Prospero's Journey from Revenge to Reconciliation

Making use of character Prospero, the author shows how the ideologies of an individual assume a different direction after suffering some of the transformation in the society. As the play kicks off, Prospero’s conduct displays a contradiction from the basic tenets of Christian forgiveness. Depending on his good fortune, the character seizes the opportunity to take vengeance of his enemy. The passage that presents the central focus of the book is one that "Prospero hopes that his plan to

Altogether, Prospero gave up his position as Duke of Milan because he chose to study black magic instead of taking care of his responsibilities to his people. The quest of knowledge of the black magic made Prospero become so studious that it seems that he completely forgot about his kingdom. In Act 1, Scene 2 Prospero acknowledged that he was caught up in his occult books, and as a result, he let his control of the government slip into Antonio’s hands. Prospero allowed his brother to help him run the government so he could get more involved in the occult. Antonio, Prospero’s brother, was able to take advantage of the situation by dethroning Prospero and becoming the new Duke of Milan. Antonio also decided that he would send Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, to live on an island. Magic had already become a major part of Prospero’s life, and being exiled to the island only helped him pursue it more. On the island, there was a witch, Sycorax, that ruled over it, and when Prospero defeated her, he gained the service of Ariel and Caliban.

Lear, likewise, is the victim of a tempest, also a turning point in the plot, as well as a powerful force in his own agonizing journey through growth and self-discovery. In a way, Lear's tempest is more significant in that it represents the Hegelian dialectic of thesis, antithesis, synthesis; out of Lear's agonizing conflict with nature and his subsequent madness comes a new and better man, a man cleansed, literally and figuratively, by the raging water of the storm. It is interesting to note the main difference between the roles played by Lear and Prospero in their respective interactions with the storm: Lear is the victim of the maelstrom, Prospero the creator. Each character is defined to a certain extent by this relationship to nature's wrath, one experiencing it as a kind of chastisement, the other utilizing it to further his own ends. Lear rages against the storm, shouting, "You sulph'rous and thought-executing fires,/ Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts,/ Singe my white head! And thou all-shaking thunder,/ Strike flat the thick rotundity o'th'world!" (III.II.4-7). Compare this with Miranda's request that "If by your art, my dearest father, you have/ Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them." (I.I.1-2).

The entire plot of the play is a scheme designed by Prospero to bring his rivals to a state of regret so that he can pardon them and restore the rightful order of things to his dukedom of Milan. As Prospero is seen as being all-powerful over the island, he could